Thursday - Mar 8, 2012
This past weekend a ruckus was made over Google’s implemented privacy policy changes, with many critics arguing that the changes will only further crush people’s online privacy rights. Yet seemingly for every critic who protested the changes, someone else expressed how either the changes weren’t so limiting or — even more drastically — how our worries about privacy are a bit ridiculous.
All of the noise being made about Google’s change, as well as a recent announcement by the United States’ Obama Administration of a privacy blueprint for online consumers, has certainly muddied the water. But at the core of the complicated issue of Internet privacy are several viewpoints: one of high expectations for privacy and another of few privacy expectations.
Those with high expectations of privacy argue Internet privacy should be as important as that which we have in our own homes. “Private lives, personal secrets, confidential information – all of it is potentially compromised by the vast network of Internet data sharing,” said Buffalo News columnist Donn Esmonde recently. That sort of sharing, say privacy advocates, is too much. Users of websites like Facebook and YouTube wish that the companies running the sites would make their data sharing policies more transparent and offer clearer ways to opt out of data sharing schemes. “The consequences of being open with our personal information are dangerous as we further lose more of our personal freedoms,” these privacy advocates say.
Of those who have fewer privacy expectations online, their opinion is typically based on the wealth of free online products and services (like most of Google’s offerings) we help ourselves to on a daily basis. Because they’re free, these people say, our expectation for privacy should be low. “After all, the services are free,” said Forbes contributor Scott Goodson in a recent article about Google, “so surely we should understand they come at a price?” What is the price? Google and other free sites gather as much data as possible about you to better target advertising — a major source of income for such providers — at you. Additionally, this group also points out the information that retailers, credit card companies, utilities, and other businesses collect on us without too much public complaint. “Our privacy has long been in short supply,” they argue, “so why the outcry now?”
Regardless of which side of the argument you take, the realization should be that addressing online privacy is not a black and white issue. While we should have some expectation of privacy, especially with services we pay for, how reasonable is it to lose some of our privacy when using free online services? Where do we draw the line when it comes to how much of our personal data and online history is distributed and used?
That said, here are five ways to better protect your personal data online, or at least limit what gets passed on to others:
1. Make sure you’re not logged in to a Google service before using Google’s search engine. This won’t completely prevent your web surfing and usage habits from being tracked. Rather, Google will track you by your computer’s slightly more anonymous numeric Internet address, often called an IP address.
2. Check the privacy settings on your social media accounts from time to time as policies change frequently. Facebook is notorious for constantly changing not only how your data is displayed, but also how private it remains. As of this writing, you can verify your Facebook privacy settings by clicking the drop-down arrow in the top toolbar and selecting “Privacy Settings.” Other sites like LinkedIn and Twitter have similar ways of checking this.
3. Be careful with the “helpful” password saving features inherent in many browsers, especially when using a public computer or device. Before you use the browser on a public computer, make sure the password saving feature is disabled. Otherwise, you risk making more information than you intend available to others who may use the device.
4. It requires a little effort, but if you’re willing, install a browser extension like Ghostery. Once installed and configured, Ghostery will detect and block those tracking tools you don’t wish website owners to be using on you while you surf the Internet.
5. Support the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and learn about the new technologies that threaten to disrupt your online privacy.
Further reading:
• Key issues about Google’s recent privacy policy changes
• “More privacy” opinion: How to Get Privacy Right
• “Less privacy” opinion: Being Tracked by Google Isn’t Bad—It’s Actually Good
Photo via DonkeyHotey, Flickr Creative Commons
Thursday - Feb 23, 2012
Earlier this month news broke of parent Tommy Jordan and his somewhat unorthodox method of dealing with his daughter’s disobedience in the online realm. Jordan’s daughter, Hannah, reportedly used vulgarity on Facebook to talk poorly about her family. In response, Jordan lectured his daughter and then shot his daughter’s laptop nine times with a pistol. Additionally, he recorded the “lecture” and posted it to his daughter’s Facebook page as part of her punishment.
Jordan has since defended his actions, stating “you raise your children however you want.”
“As long as they turn out well in the end, then our jobs as parents was well done,” he added.
Despite a fair amount of support, there are still many who oppose Jordan’s discipline methods. And from that disagreement comes a few interesting points that apply to parents with kids learning to use the Internet.
1. Compared to their kids, parents need to be as knowledge if not more knowledgeable about technology and social media. If parents know significantly less, they risk not being able to set prudent household policies and being less involved with their kids’ development in utilizing online environments.
Jordan supporter Samantha Radecki hints at this, stating on her opinion blog that parents don’t have the same level of control over their kids due to technological advances.
“Fifteen years ago, when a home telephone was the only way to keep in contact, it was easy for parents to monitor their kid’s activities,” said Radecki. “Parents today have to be up to date on using social media websites, cell phones, email and everything else in order to keep track of their kids like they used to.”
This easily leads into point two, which is…
2. Parents must be less fearful for and more supportive of children who wish to explore and search for information online. If parents are “introducing children to online environments through a len[s] of fear” as author Daniel Donahoo says, their “need to control, interject and govern” what their kids do online will limit the learning development of their children.
That view may seem to oppose the first point Radecki makes about monitoring what kids are doing online, but it truly doesn’t. Rather, a parent who knows how to use social media and other Internet technology not only relates better to their child, but also makes more intelligent household Internet policies, which can be created without the fear factor. That parent can sit down and explain what cyber-bullying is and why passwords shouldn’t be shared, all the while encouraging healthy online search habits. “Children supported to explore and search for information online will actually be better equipped to manage and avoid inappropriate content,” said Donahoo.
Looking at how Tommy Jordan handled the situation with his daughter’s Facebook postings in light of these two points seems extreme. While we don’t know all of the circumstances that led up to him shooting bullets through his daughter’s laptop, it’s easy to wonder if there was a better way to handle it.
When he defended his actions, he said that he didn’t have his daughter close her Facebook account because he’s an avid user himself and can empathize with the thought of losing years of memories. There are additional reasons to believe Jordan isn’t completely tech ignorant, leading me to believe that there was still the opportunity for him to spend productive time with his daughter on how to better use social networking. Instead he chose to shoot bullets through her laptop.
In the end, he’s at least partially right: parents more or less have the right to raise their children how they wish. However, there seems to be enough scientific evidence to show some methods are more productive than others. When it comes to raising a child in a tech-laden world, isn’t it more responsible to understand how that tech works and to spend time with the child creating a healthier, more meaningful view of the Internet and what it offers?
Photo via Oleg1975, Flickr Creative Commons
Friday - Feb 10, 2012
This past Tuesday saw people all over the globe observing Safer Internet Day (SID), with the aim of “promot[ing] safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.” Originally spawned as a European event in 2004, support for the cause has expanded significantly since.
As Learn the Net was founded on the principal of providing relevant information to help people learn about how to safely and efficiently use the wide array of Internet resources available to them, it was particularly encouraging to see so many facts and tips being shared in the name of educating and raising awareness on Safer Internet Day. In fact, many statistics were released worldwide to coincide specifically with SID this past Tuesday.
Consider the following examples:
• 37 percent of U.S. children and 44 percent of British children aged eight to 12 access Facebook regularly despite its 13-or-older age regulation.
• 28 percent of U.K. children aged 11-16 have been bullied over the Internet.
• The Republic of Malta’s social welfare group Aġenzija Appoġġ has received 194 reports of Internet abuse since February 2011.
• 35 percent of reports to Greece’s online watchdog SafeLine involve illegal content or abuse on Facebook.
• 24 percent of West Australian high school students share the passwords to their social networking accounts with other people.
And this was only the tip of the iceberg! Governments, not-for-profits, and organizations of all types set out this week to raise awareness. Even media broadcasters like the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are in the act, with the BBC in particular making a week-long event of it with its Share Take Care program.
“Throughout the week, programs across the BBC will be prompting conversations about the unintended consequences of over-sharing online,” said the BBC, “and raising awareness about the little things you can do to manage your online reputation and help others manage theirs.”
This goal ties in well with this year’s theme “connecting generations and educating each other.” The Internet has become an amazing tool that holds relevance to the young and old. Through education and helping each other, we ensure the longevity of that tool.
That said, here are five tips of my own to help put you on your way to a safer Internet experience:
1. Cyberbullying — the act of harassing and tormenting another person online — is becoming more prominent, and many people don’t know how to deal with it. While there are numerous takes on how to handle a cyberbully, the general consensus is to not respond to the attacks, save all correspondence, and let someone (parent, teacher, authority figure) know it’s happening. Check out more tips on OvercomeBullying.org.
2. Always read the opt-out policy of a website. This usually comes in the form of a check box or Yes/No prompt asking you if you wish to have your information shared with third parties or if you wish to receive e-mails or newsletters. It’s easy to just click the “Ok” or “Yes” button without reading when presented with such information, but you shouldn’t. Take the extra time to understand what you’re agreeing to.
3. When using a public Internet-connected device (in other words, a computer or device you don’t uniquely use), always remember to log out. Also, be careful with password saving features! Don’t assume that password saving is disabled in the browser you’re using.
4. Don’t share your passwords with anyone, and encourage others to do the same. I recognize there may be emergencies where you may feel it appropriate to share your password, but don’t do it for all but the most urgent of circumstances. Also, remember the representative of any legitimate company will not ask you for your password. If someone claims to be with a company and asks for your password, don’t give it to them.
5. Read through Learn the Net’s “Stay Safe” articles to learn more about computer viruses, secure transactions, and online privacy.
